Free Republic

On June 29, American Needs Fatima (ANF) will mail 80,000 Saint Benedict medals to its friends and supporters as part of its Public Square Rosary campaign. The Saint Benedict Medal is considered the most powerful medal in the Catholic Church. It is exorcistic and strengthens souls who are tempted.  The medal, as it is known today, was first made in 1880 by the Benedictines of Monte Casino to celebrate the 1400th anniversary of Saint Benedict’s birth.  Mindful of the medal’s exorcistic powers, ANF hopes they will protect Public Square Rosary participants from attacks of the devil.This is important, since the...

Millions of teenagers nationwide, including male university students, have chosen to remain virgins until marriage. In doing so they unflinchingly clash head on with a modern day culture that implicitly condones free love.  A friend of mine was once riding the subway late at night when the doors opened and in stepped two couples returning from a night out on the town. They laughed and carried on until one of the ladies noticed a poster promoting abstinence on the wall behind them. She read it out loud for the others. “Virgin: it’s not a dirty word,” it said. Then half...

In the terrible Cultural War afflicting the contemporary world, the most effective and destructive weapons are not bullets or bombs but rather ideas, concepts and words that attack traditions and institutions. Indeed, the most intense struggle now facing the nation is one of beliefs, ideas and convictions.  Bombs may kill, wreak havoc and terrify consciences. However, they only influence man from the outside in an indirect and not always effective way. A proof of this is the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Instead of causing the panic and discouragement the terrorists might have hoped for, the attacks stirred...

While walking downtown I happened to bump into an acquaintance who challenged me by way of a greeting: "In your latest article you proved quite well that tradition is an indispensable survival of the past in the present. But is tradition important enough for you to have placed it before property and family in the TFP trilogy?" The question amazed me. But looking at him I realized that it would occur to many people. So I will answer it today.  Yes, tradition does constitute a high value of the spirit. In principle, it merits, from certain standpoints of course, to...

It is not a rare thing for Catholic prelates to assert definitively that the Church opposes capital punishment. Some even liken the death of a defenseless aborted baby to that of a criminal duly judged by a competent court and condemned for a grave violation of the moral or juridical order. Such churchmen conclude that Catholics are obliged to reject not only abortion but the death penalty as well.1 Cardinal Ratzinger’s Letter to the American Bishops Such conclusions are misleading.To the contrary, although it is very restrictive in the application of the death penalty today, the Catechism of the...

By John Horvat II In the Cultural War, the fight over abortion is one of the fronts where the battle rages most fiercely. It is no surprise that many rally with great fervor to this cause that transcends borders in our increasingly borderless world. Thus, there are many reasons to be enthusiastic supporters of this noble cause that defends those very ones who have no one to come to their aid. Perhaps the first reason worth of mention is its amazing capacity to unite. It really could not be any other way. The brutality of the abortion act is...

University of Minnesota OKs anti-Catholic play "The Pope and the Witch," snubs bishops January 30, 2007 The blasphemous play “The Pope and the Witch” is scheduled to stage at the University of Minnesota on March 1. Written by avowed communist Dario Fo, the play describes the Pope as a heroine-addict with a ‘crucifixion stroke,’ a mockery of the Crucifixion. And click here to sign petition: http://tfp.org/student_action/activities/protests/univ_minnesota_blasphemy2.htm (where it says: "Click here."

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D., was trained as a neuroscientist at Yale University. After finishing his doctoral work, he worked for Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He studied for the priesthood in Rome, where he focused on bioethics and dogmatic theology. Father Pacholczyk is now director of education and a staff ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Walter Camier of Crusade Magazine interviewed Father Pacholczyk.Crusade: Father, could you explain what embryonic stem-cell research is, and why it is against Catholic doctrine?Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk: The central difficulty at the heart of embryonic stem-cell research is...

The History of a Nationwide Protest Against The Da Vinci CodeSumming it up: Rallies Take Sony to Task for The Da Vinci CodeA Time for Action—The Da Vinci Code RejectedFor all the Stories Telling the History of this Campaign, Click here  Where We Protested:Click the map below for a state-by-state look at the protest effort See the Protest Pictures   Click here for Photo Gallery Read the Blog of the CampaignClick The Da Vinci Code banner below for a two-week day-by-day account of the campaign's most intense days. Da Vinci Code Chronicle: Get the Arguments Against The Da Vinci...

Sports teams expect opponents to score against them. It is all part of the game. The important thing is to amass a steady string of victories to win the championship.  The same logic that applies to sports does not seem to apply to politics. In the aftermath of the November elections, there has been much talk on both sides of the political spectrum about the decline of moral issues.  Talk is rife about a social conservative consensus that is supposedly wearing thin. Moral values were edged out by the economy and jobs. The pro-life movement is beleaguered. The traditional agenda...

  Cover of the message Twenty-five years ago, socialists the world over were talking about a new kind of socialism that they hoped would sweep the world. Buoyed by the 1981 presidential victory of France’s Francois Mitterrand, Socialists everywhere were electrified by a new buzzword: self-management. With this new word in its arsenal, the left thought it had a program that was unstoppable.  Later that year, on December 9, 1981, a striking six-page public interest advertisement appeared in The Washington Post and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.The advertisement was a message from the 13 Societies for the Defense of Tradition, Family...

The following text is adapted from a lecture Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira gave on June 15, 1973.  It has been translated and edited for publication without his revision.  Note, in this text, he uses the words Revolution and Counter-Revolution as he defined them in his book Revolution and Counter-Revolution.  In this sense, the Revolution is a centuries-old process, motivated by pride and sensuality, and therefore egalitarianism and liberalism, that dominates the modern world and seeks to destroy Christian civilization.  Counter-Revolutionaries are those dedicated to defeating this process and defending the rights of God. –Ed.…One of the truly Counter-Revolutionary acts...

By Michael DrakeWe live at a time when extreme moral decadence and a loss of the sense of evil and sin coexist with technological advances unprecedented in history. If not contained within proper moral limits, this very progress can turn into catastrophe.  In the coming elections, many initiatives are being put to the vote which will address moral aberrations such as abortion and homosexual “marriage.” Others will address ethical issues involving biotechnology calling for the destruction of human embryos for cloning or embryonic stem cell research.Such initiatives find support in activist judges and liberal legislators determined to impose this anti-natural...

Click here to protest now!Fighting Back at HalloweenIt only takes a few determined people to make a difference. Concerned TFP supporters were both shocked and disgusted to hear of an obscene priest costume available at the store in the local mall where children of all ages pick out their Halloween costumes. They decided to do something about it.At a store in central Pennsylvania, TFP supporter Jose Ferraz asked the store clerk to show him the priest costumes. With some hesitation, she guided him to an area with “everything religious.”  He noted that no other religions were represented in the aisle....

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina is still overwhelmingly present in New Orleans today. Such an event should at least serve as a point of reflection not only about the city’s physical but also its moral devastation.With this in mind, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) through its America Needs Fatima campaign is asking members to join “Remember Katrina” – a massive crusade of protest and reparation for the terrible insults to God and His Mother, Mary Most Holy seen during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  Many openly claim that a return to...

                    In The Da Vinci Code,  one finds the horrible affirmation advanced by one of its  characters that Christ is not God but was deified by Constantine to advance a political agenda. This is supposedly “the greatest cover-up in history.”  From the very beginning of the Church, there have always been those who denied Christ’s Divinity.  However, there have also been saints that have gloriously affirmed Christ’s Divinity.St. Ephrem the Syrian (c.306–373) was one such saint.  In his commentary on the Transfiguration, he comments upon how Christ showed His apostles the glory of His Divinity that has been concealed...

Why Does Sony Fear Free Publicity?   “Don’t protest, you’re just giving them free publicity!”That is the advice that the anti-blasphemy protester must often endure when organizing protests in front of theaters.  The conventional wisdom is that controversy generates interest. And interest will in turn only fuel ticket sales. The best thing a Catholic can do in face of a blasphemous movie is to ignore it. Don’t go. Do nothing.   Thus, the TFP massive protests in front of theaters and especially its current efforts to organize 1,000 protests against The Da Vinci Code movie are at best well-intentioned but counter-productive.Indeed if...

Urgent Action Item!Click here to Protest Now!American TFP Protests Play About MaryWhile the Incarnation is one of the most sublime expression of God’s love for men, it is also the object of the most base blasphemies. The latest addition to this trend is a current off-Broadway play called “Mary, Like a Virgin”which will be running every Thursday until May 11. The American TFP is joining with other Catholics protesting against this outrage. It seems the musical could not be more sarcastic and disrespectful. The 90-minute “confession by the Virgin Mary” has the Most Pure Mother played by a man dressed...

America’s largest Catholic university offers minor in “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies,” TFP Student Action calls for peaceful protest DePaul University is apparently the first Catholic university to formally establish an undergraduate minor program in homosexuality. The new program began in January, sparking controversy and concern over the state of moral decay within higher learning. “I must say the program is shameful, especially for a university that advertises itself as Catholic. The Church teaches that homosexual vice is intrinsically evil, sinful, unnatural. To pretend the topic is open to other valid interpretations is to simply deny Catholic teaching,”...

TFP Student Action launches effort to restore modesty on Catholic campuses Feminist groups on twenty-one American Catholic Universities are planning a new assault against the Church’s traditional moral teaching, by organizing showings of the lewd play, “The V***** Monologues” in the weeks surrounding St. Valentine’s Day. (Asterisks added for modesty). TO SIGN YOUR E-CARD AND JOIN THE GROWING PROTEST, visit: http://tfp.org/student_action/php/monologues_2006.php The choice of St. Valentine’s Day is particularly offensive, since it is a feast day the Church instituted to honor three martyrs who died to defend the Faith. According to the Cardinal Newman Society1, the play is a conglomeration...